Portables vs consoles

[RCBH928]

If this thread needs to be moved to another section please do so
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I have been playing games lately on my iPad, and I must tell you
in earlier times i looked down on portable devices, the tiny screen, shorter games and inferior graphics.

After playing some games like plants vs zombies , vampire origins, metal gear touch, Age of Zombies, and more I think portable gaming is a blast!
I am getting ideas that this is the only way I should game.

I am starting to feel that console gaming is too much of a hassle. I have to get two devices, a tv and a console and connect them together and I must manage the wires.

I must deal with CDs and cartridges, huge downloads as updates, map packs, and expansions.

I am tied for having free time in my house and to the tv area.

and more than that a game costs $60 , which looks too much for me given that you buy multiple games a year it adds up pretty fast.

With the ipad , i get new fun games at the cost of $1 and a $10 game is considered expensive. My games go with me everywhere, and multiples of them stored on my device . compare that to CDs and cartridges. I can play in any 10-15 free minutes i have any where. The games give you just as much of a fun exprience as consoles do, and the graphics are at least psx level , which a lot consider the greatest library of all time, ok maybe ps2 tops it. With the iPads huge screen size I do not see that i am sacrificing any screen extra screen space needed.

of course that iPad has its disadvantages, the size of the device is not convenient for hours of play and its a bit heavy. In addition soft controls are despised by many but they do work well, or good enough. All devices got their disadvantages and we lived with them such as the long psx loading times, faulty 360 consoles, and bad memory card over multiple consoles, nd lasers dying. I do not see why we should not give the blind eye to these minor issues with the device.

I am not saying that the portable experience is superior to the console experience, but it slowly is pulling me from it especially with the retro games that can be replicated exactly or better on the iPad like The Secret of Monkey Island and Earthworm Jim.

Any one share my feelings toward portables compared to the standard consoles?
if you have any opinions to share , please do...

[Jrecee]

The controls on classic styled games are horrendous. I aksed for recommendations of iphone platformers that have good controls and downloaded one of them. The controls ruin it. I would be happy to deal with long load times, bad memory cards, and broken lasers if the game I'm playing controls decently. Why cares how quickly you can get to the game if the game sucks?

The ipad screen is almost big enough to cancel out the fact that it's portable. The first tv I ever hooked my sega genesis up to was about 4" bigger than the ipad's screen. So that's one benefit the ipad has. But the psp/ds/iphone don't have that benefit.

The CD/cartridge argument is kind of moot since there's tons of downloadable games for consoles now. And then there's the issue of all the downloadable content problems that haven't been sorted out yet, which we've discussed to death on here.

Also, in my opinion the inferior tech of portables was one of its benefits. It allowed you to enjoy the previous generation's style of graphics and gameplay while all the console games were moving to different things. Now that portables are nearly as powerful as full consoles, the games are starting to feel like every other game, just on a small screen.

The ipad is good if you're playing games designed with the ipad in mind. And if you like those sorts of games and they're worth the $500 price of entry then go for it.

[gtmtnbiker]

I've been a fan of portable gaming for awhile now. (PSP & DS 90% of my time, console for the other 10%). The only disadvantage of portables is that you're not as sociable as you would be with a console and some friends.

[crisis]

I've always been a self-described and considered a gadget hound. Portable gaming really appeals to me more than consoles. I have a PSP 3000, and it can output to the TV via component cables. With all of the emulation pretty much covered, I get those cravings handled pretty easily.

I also have a DSI XL with an Acekard 2i. It's a whole unique system and game collection in and of itself.

I do keep three consoles running: a Dreamcast, SNES and the original XBox. The SNES and DC are my #1 and #2 faves, respectively. The XBox is modded, and the emulation capabilities on it are amazing. You go from Atari 2600 on up through Neo Geo and Capcom CPS1/2 with no troubles.

I agree about the portables not being as sociable. You're not going to have that "gathering" like the multiplayer console sessions. I've done the wifi thing with the portables with a few folks in the same room. The feeling is not quite the same.

-Jay

[noiseredux]

I've always had a thing for portable consoles if you get what I mean:

Turbo Express/TG16 - Express could be used to take TG16 games on the go. Get the game home and play it on the console.

SMS/Game Gear - I loved the idea that the SMS games could be played on a GG using the Master Gear Converter. I always wished they did the opposite as well, making an adapter to play GG games on the console.

Nomad - as portable Genesis. Brilliant. Already had a huge and established library of popular games to play.

Game Boy Player/GBA - duh. But seriously, as a console the GBP can output via component cables and can play 20 years worth of games... the GBA can do the same in portable form (with added frontlight/backlight on SP model).

PSP 2000 - ok great idea, take the portable powerhouse and then add the ability for video output. Great thinking.

[pjvdg]

I do keep three consoles running: a Dreamcast, SNES and the original XBox. The SNES and DC are my #1 and #2 faves, respectively. The XBox is modded, and the emulation capabilities on it are amazing. You go from Atari 2600 on up through Neo Geo and Capcom CPS1/2 with no troubles.

I agree that an xbox 1 is a great console for emulation, I remember even running N64 games on it.

[d123456]

For me it´s all about the experience.
It might be a hassle to some.
Up until about a year ago I was activeley looking for a 2 player arcade racing game cabinet to put in my attick. Seemed alot of them can´t really be deconstucted that well. glued parts, etc.
plus transport, etc. I still want my own personal arcade someday.
so for me it´s quite the opposite.
GBA, PSP. when I try these. I´m like.........pfffffff, whatever. you can never play these like you play games wit a regular controller that fits in your hand well because that´s what it is made for. no tiny bad screen which moves when you move your controller.
I do own a Wonderswan, which is cool, but even with that system. I keep it in the car for when I have to wait, which is not that often at all.
Same deal with these smart phones. As if...I would want to do something on the go.....huh? no. I´ll do that at home. whatever I need to do.

No offense, to each their own.

[gtmtnbiker]

A great thing about portable gaming is that in less than 30 seconds, you can be playing a game. No turning on the TV/console/amplifier and waiting for them to warm up and boot.

If you're environmentally minded, a portable console will use a lot less energy than a console.

But the best thing is really that it's portable. You can play it on the couch, at your desk, in the car, outside, while waiting for an appt, etc.

[noiseredux]

But the best thing is really that it's portable. You can play it on the couch, at your desk, in the car, outside, while waiting for an appt, etc.

though I do most of my playing on the GBPlayer and a monitor, I love that I can take my SP with me wherever I need to kill time. Y'know, waiting rooms, etc.

[alienjesus]

I love portables, they probably account for most of my gaming time. It's easy to find an arcadey game I can pick up and play, or I casn play something requiring a bit more time. Sure, I can do both of those on a console too, but I find that when I have to go into my room, set up the console and isolate myself from the world, I dont much feel like doing so for a 10 minute blast of geometry wars.

I can understand the sociability issue for some of you, but it depends on context. No-one I live with plays the same games I do anyhow, so if i go play a console game, I shut myself in the room away from everyone. If I play a portable, I can sit with my girlfriend and my housemates as they watch tv or surf the internet or whatever. It sounds anti-social of me I guess, but it's not really. I can engage in the conversation and whatnot, and I don't have to sit staring at the TV in my bedroom on my own. Thats probably the main benefit of portables for me. I dont really play them outside, but the portability around my house is great.

It sounds lazy (and it is), but the pick up and play nature of my portables also really makes it for me. I don't have a dedicated game room space like some of the rest of you (I live at my girlfriends parents house during the holidays, and in a rented room during university term time), so if i want to play an old console game, I have to dig out the system from the cupboard (assuming its one of the ones I brought with me, those things use up a lot of space), find the games from my shelf I want to play, take it to whatever tv im using, faff about with wires to set it up and play.

With my portables, I can bring my entire collection with me to uni without an issue (45 DS carts, 20+ GBA games 15 or so GB and GBC, 6 NGPC, 3 pokemon mini carts) along with all my portable systems, and still use up less room than my mega drive + games would use on its own. I also dont need to faff about with wires beyond plugging in my DS to charge if it runs low. I can just pick it up and play. Hell, with my DSi, I dont even need to dig through my games, I have about 12 of them saved to the menu at any one time from the DSi Shop ^_^

<3 my portables.